40IJ 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 



$&q§ and §ii4m§' 



BITTER WEED AS A POLLEN PLANT. 



what value is the "bitter weed" to the apia- 

 Bees are gathering- pollen largely from 

 it now. I can send you some seed free of 

 charge, if you wish it. D. S. Lsethune. 



Snyder, Ark., Aug. 18, 1879. 



[Bitter weed occasionally furnishes pollen; see 

 what is said of it under the head of pollen in the 

 ABC. Thanks for your offer of seed, friend 15.; 

 but, as it is one of the worst if not the worst weed 

 we have here, I would rather pav something to get 

 rid of it.] 



MOVING BEES FOR FALL PASTURAGE. 



I am located, at present, with my bees in the wil- 

 derness of Ottawa Co., and bees are doing well on 

 wild fall tlowers. John F. Dipman. 



Elliston, Ottowa Co., O., Sept. 1, 1879. 



CAN A QUEEN BE REARED FROM DRONE LAKVjK? 

 VALUE OF ENGRAVINGS, &C. 



Can a queen be bred from drone brood? Twice 

 this season, I have had queen cells built on drone 

 brood, when there was plenty of other brood in the 

 hive. I pinched them off. 1 want to give your en- 

 graver credit for so well showing forth friend Hutch- 

 inson's tenement hives. He lives about 10 miles 

 south of me. The other day, I was going along the 

 road he lives on, and 1 knew his place the moment I 

 saw the stars and stripes over that shingle hive, by 

 your picture in Aug. No. of Gleanings; so 1 stop- 

 ped and had a good visit with him, and got a good 

 many useful hiuts. M. 1». Yokk. 



Millington, Mich., Aug. 19, 1879. 



[They can never raise a queen from drone larvae, 

 but it is claimed that they do sometimes rear a drone 

 out of such queen cells. 1 am glad our engravings 

 prove profitable, and if you will look, friend Y., on 

 page 14 of the ABC, you will see a picture of the 

 kind of queen cells you mention, and a description 

 of them. | 



ONE WAY TO GET A START. 



A year ago, I found a bee tree, and, when I took 

 Gleanings, 1 found out what to do with them. 1 

 made me a hive with movable frames, transferred 

 the bees, and they have done very well. This year, 

 I have taken 35 lb. of comb honey, and 1 think 1 shall 

 take some more in Sept. What do you think of that, 

 for one that did not know anything about bees? 



Millstadt, 111., Aug. 23, '79. Jacob Reitz. 



I moved a strong colony of hybrids 8 or 10 rods 

 away, and put a hive filled with brood and dry combs 

 in its place. They went to work furiously to fill the 

 new hive, working early and late, through cold, 

 rainy days, and 1 said all the kind things I could for 

 hybrids; but 1 have just discovered that they are 

 taking all the honey away from the hive that was 

 moved, and I cannot stop them. 1 have tried closing 

 the hive and scenting one with peppermint, but 1 

 can't make them quarrel. Please tell me what I can 

 do. Would you move the original swarm still far- 

 ther away? Makv Simons. 



Brocton, N. Y., Aug. 19, 1879. 



[The freak is a strange one, but one that bees 

 sometimes take. Probably the best thing you can 

 do is to carry the old colony away a mile or more 

 and keep it there 10 days, or two weeks; then bring 

 it home, and it will be all right.] 



I took 120 boxes, well filled, out of that chaff hive 

 1 got of you. A. K. Bodge. 



Exeter, Me., Sept. 4, 1879. 



HOW ONE MAN PROSPERS, WHILE ANOTHER HAS ONLY 

 BLASTED HOPES. 



One of my neighbors started 4 years ago with 3 

 swarms of bees. He increased his number last year 

 (third year) to 40, and sold 1,700 lb. of honey. This 

 season, he has several thousand pounds of honey 

 and over 100 swarms. Others also are succeeding, 

 while some let them run down and die out. Two 

 years ago, I bought a gum, put them into a Lang- 

 stroth hive, and raised a crop of worms that killed 

 the bees out after they had swarmed and lost their 



queen. I thought the large, fat worms, filling the 

 cells and presenting a sharp white point, were 

 young bees, until it was too late. I am cited to you 

 as the best authority to instruct me how to manage 

 them, and ask that you send me a copy of your 

 Gleanings. A. S. Magruder. 



Rock Ledge, Fla., Sept. 8th, 1879. 



[Many thanks for the good opinion your friends 

 seem to have of me, but 1 would suggest the friend 

 who succeeds so well in your neighborhood, as the 

 best "authority" for you to go to. 1 wonder if „your 

 successful neighbor is not a subscriber to Glean- 

 ings.] 



wooden separators. 

 We have had another year's experience with the 

 wood separators. They are a perfect success with 

 us. Our honey looks most splendid, and can not be 

 beat. Our honey crop is but half a crop. 



FRIEDEMANN G REINER. 



Naples, N. Y., Sept. 14th, 1879. 



DARK QUEENS, AND TINNED WIRE FOR BROOD COMBS. 



From my experience, I think it must be some- 

 thing besides cool weather that makes dark Italian 

 queens. I occasionally get them here when the 

 mercury ranges from tb° to 98°. The blackest one 1 

 ever saw, this summer produced light colored, and 

 well marked Italians; but, as a rule, I think light 

 queens produce the lightest bees. 



I have used tinned wire in the brood chamber 

 over six months, and, contrary to what 1 expected, 

 it has prosed a perfect success. I used the first 

 wire in Feb. In two of the frames, the tin of the 

 wire appeared detective, and showed rust spots be- 

 fore the cells were used. One larva looked bluish 

 and was taken out, but this may not have been 

 caused by the i usted wire; the cell was then filled 

 with pollen. My imported queen has been using 

 wired combs over six months and 1 have been 

 watching them closely. 1 he only objection I have 

 is the time it takes to'put in the wire, and that you 

 can not get it tight without Lending the bottom bar. 



C. R. Carlin. 



Shreveport, La., Sept. 13th, 1879. 



[The plan given you in July No. (page 254) will en- 

 able you to draw the wires as tight as you choose, 

 friend C, and if you will teach seme girl or boy 

 how, they will put in the wites lor you at a very 

 small expense.] 



QUICKNESS IN TRANSIT. 



Four card and queen cf Sept. 5th, received on the 

 6th. In 41 hours from the time the order left the 

 P. O., the goods landed in Goshen, sale and sound. 

 Is'nt that the fastest time on recoid? 



South West, lnd., Sept. 9, "!9. I. R. Good. 



[That is the way we try to do business, friend G., 

 but we cannot always succeed so well as in the case 

 you have mentioned. To get every thing off prompt- 

 ly by return mail or express, usually necessitates 

 keeping a little larger force of hands than is actually 

 needed to do the business ordinarily.] 



I received your Gleanings and catalogue and 

 was very much interested: indeed, 1 could not stop 

 reading. 1 found on every page things which 1 

 have done wrong as a beginner. Wm. H. Rex. 



Lehighton, Pa., Sept. 18th, 1879. 



DRONE BROOD IN WORKER COMB. 



You once stated that bees would not, under any 

 circumstances, build drone cells on fdn. of 5 cells to 

 the inch, and, though informed otherwise, did not 

 correct. Now, on page 358, Gleanings for Sept., in 

 answer to the question, "Can an impregnated queen 

 deposit drone eggs in worker cells," you think not, 

 or if she does occasionally lay drone eggs in worker 

 comb you opine she does not mean to do it. If you 

 were here now, I could show you hundreds of capped 

 drone brood in worker cells, 5 to the inch, woricer 

 fdn., and not sagged. Does that look as if the queens 

 in this climate do not mean to do it? it is done by 

 young Italian queens, as well as by my imported 

 queen two years old. The desire to rear drones 

 seems much greater here than north. Saturday, 1 

 saw one comb of fdn. 5 cells to the inch, not sagged, 

 built out in the colony with a fertile queen, one side 

 all worker, but, on other side, near the centre, 9 

 drone cells in one spot, and 7 in another, made by 

 running cells together at the base. 



Shreveport, La., Sept. 15, '79. C. R. Carlin. 



